Suntastic Cruise!!

Sail Date:
October 2013

Destination:
Southern Caribbean

Embarkation:
Miami

My DH and I arrived in Miami the night before our cruise. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on Biscayne Blvd. It was very convenient to go across the street and had many choices for dining. We arrived the next morning at the cruise port around 10:45. We were on the ship around 11:30am. We went to the dining room for lunch, which was very nice and not crowded like the buffet usually is. We were in our room around 1:30pm and dropped our bags and walked around. Due to some issues under the ship, they had some divers underneath, and we didn’t leave port until around 6pm. I don’t think anyone seemed to mind and the Captain had has caught up in time before our first port.

Our balcony stateroom was very roomy and had plenty of drawers, shelves, and bins in the closet. Our stateroom was 9031 and our stateroom attendant was Ramel, who was absolutely wonderful. We had wine and the chocolate covered strawberries. Yummy. The shower was big enough, but I must say it was difficult More
for a woman to shave her legs. I ended up putting my foot on the toilet to reach to shave…lol.

The food at the buffet was pretty much the same everyday, with just a few things changing. The food in the dining room was okay, but not the best. I can say that I am not too fussy, because I am happy not to have to prepare it, cook it, and clean up. We ate in Il Adagio and it was very good. We didn’t try the other specialty restaurants. The chicken wings at the sports bar where good, as was the bartender Gopish (not sure if I spelled it right). The omelets and waffles in Moderno in the mornings where very good. Not many people realized that Moderno had the omelets or waffles, until a few days after sailing.

The cruise crew staff is the best! Everyone worked together, very well, as a team; which make for a wonderful cruise. Everyone who worked on the Sun was friendly, courteous, and would go out of their way to find out things for you or do something for you.

As far as the entertainment, we only saw the comedians, hypnotist, and the acrobats. We really enjoyed the acrobats. We didn’t see the dance shows or musical show. The white hot night party was fun with lots of dancing. There is the Not So Newlywed Game, Deal or No Deal, Bingo, and many other activities or shows. I have to say that the dancing with the staff was pretty funny. I enjoyed the little clips they put in after each dancing couple was voted off….very funny and clever. We also enjoyed the piano and the guitar entertainers a few nights.

The ship itself is old and has character. I overheard some people complaining about it being a little rusty here and there with a little wear and tear, but I just think it had character. There was a lot of wood, brass, and lots of glass (some stained).

We visited Cartagena, Aruba, Curacao, St Maarten & St. Thomas. Cartagena we did the easy tour and a bit disappointed. We only stopped at the fort and a shop. Not sure if I would want to go back to this port. The sea water here is not as pretty as other places in the Caribbean. We did love all the other ports. Went to Eagle Beach in Aruba, DH went on a snorkel over a tugboat and loved it and I went shopping, went to Sunset Grill in St. Maarten to watch the airplanes, and went to Magens Bay in St. Thomas. Had a fantastic time!

I would definitely go back on NCL Sun. The only thing I can possibly complain about is that the beds are very firm, which is not always great for everyone. A couple of days our backs or hips hurt after sleeping. By the end of the cruise we were getting used to it. I have to say the cruise director and the staff are wonderful and Kudos to all of them. I am ready to go back Ã¯ÂÅ Less

Cabin review: AIDAaura

Cabin 9031 was very convenient to the elevators. It was very quiet cabin. There is plenty of drawer, shelves, and bins in the closet. We had 4 suitcases and brought too many clothes, and still had plenty of space. We didn't realize that we could wear shorts to the mid dining room. If we would have known then we would have brought less clothes. There are shelves on each side of the mirror in the bathroom too. The only complaint is that the bed is very firm. Our stateroom attendant Ramel was wonderful but got off the ship with us. due to his time was over and he was going to be off for 3 months. Wish him all the best and hope to see him on the Getaway next year! I would definitely stay in this stateroom again and recommend it.

City Tour

It was a Easy City Tour. The tour guide was very knowledgeable, but the tour was disappointing because we only stopped at the fort and at a shopping area. There was some streets in the city that I would have liked to have seen, other than from our bus seat.

My DH did a tugboat snorkel tour through Curacao - Actief and had a wonderful time. They picked him up at the port and took him on a tour before snorkeling over the tugboat. He said it was the highlight of the cruise ports. I did some shopping in Curacao. Curacao was fairly clean and friendly.

Took a taxi to Sunset Grill next to the airport. We enjoyed lunch and drinks there. We also enjoyed seeing the planes land and takeoff. Our taxi driver was Julia and took us to Sunset Grill and was kind enough to pick us up at a specific time. She was very knowledgeable and friendly.

Took a private taxi to Magens Bay. We arrived early enough that we got a picnic table under the trees between the restaurant and restrooms. The water was very rough that day, but we had a great time and really enjoyed ourselves. Our taxi driver was kind enough to pick us up at a time we set to go back. There seemed to be a lot of road construction around the port area. The port was clean as was the beach.